Detailed Flow Diagram Research Articles

Ranking sports science and medicine interventions impacting team performance: a protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies in elite football

This study protocol describes a systematic method to identify, collect and rank sports science and medicine interventions most associated with optimising team performance in elite football in observational studies. While...

Downhole measurement of enthalpy in geothermal wells – An analytical, experimental and numerical study

The enthalpy of two-phase geothermal fluids is typically monitored at the surface to understand the performance of a geothermal field. Surface enthalpy, however, cannot reflect real reservoir conditions downhole because of the heat loss along the wellbore. In addition, with only the surface enthalpy, the energy contributions from separate feed zones cannot be evaluated individually. A technique for determining downhole enthalpy in two-phase geothermal wells using surface inputs and chloride concentrations was developed in this study, including analytical models, experimental work and numerical studies, so that the downhole flowing enthalpy, the energy contribution from each feed zone and the heat loss along the wellbore can be evaluated. Chloride always stays in the liquid phase and becomes more concentrated as the geothermal fluid ascends to the surface and boils, and the change in chloride concentration along the wellbore can be utilized to calculate the change in the flowing steam fraction and the enthalpy. Analytical models to implement this idea were established for geothermal wells with a single feed zone or multiple feed zones, and the calculation procedures are elaborated with detailed flow diagrams and examples. The analytical models involve mass balance, energy balance and an assumption that the chloride concentration in the liquid from the feed zone is determinable. Inputs to the analytical model include two-phase mass flow rates and enthalpy at the surface and chloride concentrations at the surface and in the downhole. Temperature or pressure measurements are utilized to apply the energy balance in the model for multiple feed zones. Experiments were conducted to test the feasibility of an accurate determination of chloride concentration in two-phase fluids and validate the assumption in the analytical model. Chloride concentration distribution in the mixing area at the inlet of the feed zone was determined and visualized in the experiments. At the same time, similar mixing processes were visualized by a numerical simulation using ANSYS Fluent, and results from the numerical simulation are consistent with those from the experiments. Therefore, both the experiments and the simulation support the assumption in the analytical model that chloride concentration in the liquid from the feed zone can be determined accurately. It is demonstrated that the proposed method provides a fast and cost-effective way to determine the downhole two-phase flowing enthalpy in geothermal wells with multiple feed zones and estimate flow rates and energy contribution from each individual feed zone.

Bridging The Gap Between Implementation Science and Parenting Intervention

Kaminski et al.1 recently reported selected findings from a study evaluating two group-based parenting interventions designed to promote “more positive socioemotional, behavioral, cognitive, and health outcomes” for children in low-income families (defined as < 200% of the federal poverty line). The authors provide a laudably clear and detailed flow diagram of study enrollment and follow-up assessment rates. However, specific and meaningful information about intervention exposure, participation rates, and other fundamental implementation considerations are not provided alongside the reporting of outcomes. The omission of core implementation data brings into sharp focus two interrelated and chronic limitations in the intervention research literature, in general, and particularly in the knowledge base on parenting interventions. These gaps, described below, heavily constrain the public health impact of programming for vulnerable families and children. This first limitation is inattention to or inaccuracy in describing where a study falls on the research-to-practice continuum,2,3 obfuscating the reader’s ability to evaluate the generalizability, applicability, and transferability of a study’s findings. For example, Kaminski et al. use the term “effectiveness” in reference to the evidence generated from what are clearly efficacy trials. The authors also characterize two different approaches, each with “its own curriculum” and simultaneously tested in initial efficacy trials, as “implementation adaptations” of a single “public health model” (based on a shared “philosophy” and “core set of goals.”). Accuracy matters, especially when presenting findings to a broad public health audience that includes policymakers and practitioners with neither the time nor expertise to disentangle misapplied terms and concepts. The second limitation pertains to the need for researchers to provide greater information on external validity in both efficacy and effectiveness studies. A decade ago, Glasgow et al.4 put forth a set of recommendations for specific changes that researchers, journal editors, and funding organizations can make to meet this need. These changes include “increased attention to moderating factors … such as participant characteristics (reach) and setting characteristics (adoption)”4(p1264) on the part of researchers. In 2008, an editorial by Steckler and McLeroy5 announced the new emphasis of the American Journal of Public Health on external validity and identified specific categories of external validity information that should be reported when appropriate, noting that: It has been frequently argued that internal validity is the priority for research. However, in an applied discipline, the purpose of which includes working to improve the health of the public, it is also important that external validity be emphasized and strengthened.5(p9) The call for improved reporting on external validity “to guide decision makers in their selection of research-tested interventions” vigorously continues today.6 Perou et al.7 report that extensive implementation data on both process and cost were collected as part of the Legacy study, completed in 2009. Participation rates and cost data for the Legacy interventions are highly salient—arguably critical—to interpreting intention-to-treat outcomes, given the serious challenges to reach and sustainability documented in the literature on preventive parenting interventions.8,9 Kaminski et al. describe a set of closed parenting groups, designed to be three or five years in duration and comprising 101 or 250 weekly sessions depending on approach. The literature is well established regarding the challenges of low enrollment, poor attendance, and high attrition in group-based parent-mediated interventions.10 This finding is consistent even for brief approaches.11 The issue here is not whether intensive and long-term interventions are necessary. The crux of the matter is the need for greater specificity about the magnitude, timing, duration, cointerventions, and population characteristics associated with enduring positive outcomes.12 To make judicious choices in a time of extremely limited resources for maternal and child health programs, decision-makers need confidence that a highly intensive approach can be implemented (applicability) and outcomes replicated (transferability) within feasible cost parameters of community settings. In a recent article elaborating on themes set forth in the 2009 landmark report on prevention science by the National Research Council and Institute of Medicine,13 Yoshikawa et al.11 underscore the urgent need for cost-effectiveness studies on mental health prevention and promotion strategies. Analysis of the interplay of dosage, participant characteristics, and service delivery factors is essential to effective programming and policies, and it demands the same primacy and immediacy of consideration as the results of an intention-to-treat analysis. This is a crucial direction for future research on both selective and indicated14 intervention efforts addressing children’s mental, emotional, and behavioral health.

Nephrology literature watch

Nephrology literature watch

Reconstruction of Metabolic Pathways, Protein Expression, and Homeostasis Machineries across Maize Bundle Sheath and Mesophyll Chloroplasts: Large-Scale Quantitative Proteomics Using the First Maize Genome Assembly

Chloroplasts in differentiated bundle sheath (BS) and mesophyll (M) cells of maize (Zea mays) leaves are specialized to accommodate C(4) photosynthesis. This study provides a reconstruction of how metabolic pathways, protein expression, and homeostasis functions are quantitatively distributed across BS and M chloroplasts. This yielded new insights into cellular specialization. The experimental analysis was based on high-accuracy mass spectrometry, protein quantification by spectral counting, and the first maize genome assembly. A bioinformatics workflow was developed to deal with gene models, protein families, and gene duplications related to the polyploidy of maize; this avoided overidentification of proteins and resulted in more accurate protein quantification. A total of 1,105 proteins were assigned as potential chloroplast proteins, annotated for function, and quantified. Nearly complete coverage of primary carbon, starch, and tetrapyrole metabolism, as well as excellent coverage for fatty acid synthesis, isoprenoid, sulfur, nitrogen, and amino acid metabolism, was obtained. This showed, for example, quantitative and qualitative cell type-specific specialization in starch biosynthesis, arginine synthesis, nitrogen assimilation, and initial steps in sulfur assimilation. An extensive overview of BS and M chloroplast protein expression and homeostasis machineries (more than 200 proteins) demonstrated qualitative and quantitative differences between M and BS chloroplasts and BS-enhanced levels of the specialized chaperones ClpB3 and HSP90 that suggest active remodeling of the BS proteome. The reconstructed pathways are presented as detailed flow diagrams including annotation, relative protein abundance, and cell-specific expression pattern. Protein annotation and identification data, and projection of matched peptides on the protein models, are available online through the Plant Proteome Database.

Process improvement evaluation approach using flow diagrams

AbstractMaintaining company processes will afford optimum operation and enhance the company's quality management system. A vital part of maintaining processes is their periodic evaluation. An important part of the monitoring and evaluation process is the flow diagram. A detailed flow diagram is an important tool that affords ease in visualizing the total process and is an aid in locating problem areas. The evaluation of a process is broken down into 15 steps. These steps cover gathering pertinent information, such as problem symptoms from knowledgeable sources and carrying these through their route to potential problem areas to the problems, potential causes, and the root cause of the problem. Knowing the problems brings about the need to assess their impact on the process operation as well as what changes to the process are needed and what impact these changes will have on the product – its improved quality and cost – and other vital information, such as, production rate increase, competition status, and company image. With this information, the appropriate changes are made according to a process change action plan. The plan is executed, and the process is continuously monitored according to a monitoring and evaluation plan. The paper ends with conclusions. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley &amp; Sons, Ltd.

Feasibility of Target Material Recycling as Waste Management Alternative

The issue of waste management has been studied simultaneously along with the development of the ARIES heavy-ion-driven inertial fusion energy (IFE) concept. Options for waste management include disposal in repositories, recycling, or clearance from regulatory control, following a reasonable cooling period. This paper concerns the feasibility of recycling the heavy-ion-beam targets, in particular the hohlraum wall materials that include, for example, Au/Gd, Au, W, Pb, Hg, Ta, Pb/Ta/Cs, Hg/W/Cs, Pb/Hf, Hf, solid Kr, and solid Xe. The choice between target material disposal and recycling depends on the amount of waste generated relative to the nuclear island, the strategy to solve the recycling problem, and the impact of the additional cost and complexity of the recycling process on the overall machine. A detailed flow diagram for the elements of the recycling process was developed to analyze two extreme activation cases: (a) one-shot use and then disposal in a repository and (b) recycling continuously during plant life without removal of transmutation products. Metrics for comparing the two scenarios included waste level, dose to recycling equipment, additional cost, and design complexity. Comparing the two approaches indicated a preference for the one-shot scenario as it generates 1 m3/yr of extremely low-level waste (Class A) and offers attractive design and economics features. Recycling reduces the target waste stream by a factor of 10 or more but introduces additional issues. It may produce high-level waste, requires remote handling, adds radioactive storage facilities, and increases the cost and complexity of the plant. The inventory analysis indicated that the heavy-ion-beam (HIB) target materials represent a very small waste stream compared to that of the nuclear island (<1% of the total waste). This means recycling is not a “must” requirement for IFE-HIB power plants unless the target materials have cost and/or resource problems (e.g., Au and Gd). In this case, the additional cost and complexity of the recycling process should be factored into the economics of IFE power plants.

Clinical Process Cost Analysis

Background. New systems of reimbursement are exerting enormous pressure on clinicians and hospitals to reduce costs. Using cheaper supplies or reducing the length of stay may be a satisfactory short-term solution, but the best strategy for long-term success is radical reduction of costs by reengineering the processes of care. However, few clinicians or institutions know the actual costs of medical care; nor do they understand, in detail, the activities involved in the delivery of care. Finally, there is no accepted method for linking the two. Methods. Clinical process cost analysis begins with the construction of a detailed flow diagram incorporating each activity in the process of care. The cost of each activity is then calculated, and the two are linked. This technique was applied to Diagnosis Related Group 75 to analyze the real costs of the operative treatment of lung cancer at one institution. Results. Total costs varied between $6,400 and $7,700. The major driver of costs was personnel time, which accounted for 55% of the total. Forty percent of the total cost was incurred in the operating room. The cost of care decreased progressively during hospitalization. Conclusions. Clinical process cost analysis provides detailed information about the costs and processes of care. The insights thus obtained may be used to reduce costs by reengineering the process.

Designing and Implementing International Joint Marketing Ventures

What are the specific events and decisions that actually occur in the identification, design, and implementation of joint ventures involving Western enterprises and East European enterprises? To answer this question a case study research program is presented in this article. Detailed flow diagrams of the interactions of people, key events, and decisions involving two international joint ventures in Hungary are presented. The joint ventures examined include the start of a new fast food restaurant chain in Hungary (major participants: McDonald's and Babolna) and a large-scale retail furniture store (IKEA and Butorker).

An algorithm of optimization for a special class of networks

In this paper the author presents an algorithm of optimization for a special class of networks not having the Markov property. A definition of the class of networks under consideration and a formulation of the optimization problem are given. A conception of the algorithm is discussed and next the general and detailed flow diagrams of the algorithm are offered. The realization of the algorithm is illustrated with a simple example showing the process of execution of the tasks included in the algorithm. Some possibilities of applying the algorithm in allocation problems and nonlinear integer programming are presented.

Optimization of Microwave Networks by Razor Search

A new optimization method called razor search is presented. The method, which is based on pattern search, was specifically developed for the automatic optimization by computer of networks for which the objective is to minimize the maximum deviation of some response from a desired ideal response specification. Minimax response objectives, which can lead to equal-ripple optima, will in general give rise to discontinuous partial derivatives of the objective function with respect to the network parameters. Otherwise efficient optimization methods may slow down or even fail to reach an optimum in such circumstances, particularly when the response hypersurface has a narrow curved valley along which the path of discontinuous derivatives lies. Another direct search method called ripple search is also presented. This method was developed to locate the extrema of multimodal functions of one variable in an efficient manner, and is used to determine the maximum deviation of the response from the desired response. Sufficiently detailed flow diagrams are available so that the methods can be readily programmed. The razor search strategy (with ripple search) has been successfully applied to the optimization of inhomogeneous waveguide transformers. It is illustrated in this paper by examples of cascaded commensurate and noncoummensurate transmission lines acting as impedance transformers for which the optima are known.